"I felt very strong on the final climb" - Matthew Riccitello takes surprising podium result in stage 7 of Tour de Suisse
Cycling
UAE Team Emirates continue their parade at Tour de Suisse with Adam Yates and Joao Almeida taking another 1-2 on Villars-sur-Ollon. But behind them an interesting battle for third is underway, with surprising candidate in person of Matthew Riccitello emerging behind the duo.
Riccitello briefly attempted to follow Yates and Almeida on the flanks of the Villars-sur-Ollon climb. But the Israel - Premier Tech rider quickly realized that he wouldn't be able to hold the pace all the way to the finish line, letting go of the pair. But the young American didn't give up and fought to third spot on the day, which sees him enter the top 5 in the general classification with only mountain time trial (climbing up today's ascent again) left to complete.
"It was a very tough day," Riccitello told Eurosport. "I think I'm better when everyone is really tired. That was the case today, I suspect. Yet I also surprised myself a bit. After all, I still felt very strong on the final climb. I tried to follow Adam and Joao, but unfortunately that didn't work. I had to let go."
"After that it became a kind of time trial for me to the finish," continued the 22-year-old climber. "But all in all I can't complain and it was a successful day. This also applied to the previous stages. I performed quite consistently this race, that's all I can say. The team also helped me a lot with that. I am grateful to the boys for that. They keep me in a good position all day long. I'm glad I can pay it back in some way."
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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Another @tds stage, another career-best UCI WorldTour result for Matthew Riccitello ⚡ Third place for the American rider on stage 7 keeps him in the hunt for the white jersey in Sunday’s final stage, a 15.7-kilometre uphill ITT. #TourdeSuisse 🇨🇭 #YallaIPT
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